For the last four days, I’ve been reading reviews of Live Free or Die Hard. I’ve been reading how it’s “not a real Die Hard movie”, and “this shouldn’t be called Die Hard“, etc. One review even went so far to say “Was John McClane even in Live Free or Die Hard?”

Absurd. While I agree that there were definitely plot holes, and issues with the story itself, overall, that’s no reason to fault the movie. There’s no such thing as a “perfect” action flick, we all know that by now. What we also know is the following mathematical equation: gunfire + explosions x badguys + John McClane = a kick-ass action flick.

Sure, I’ll be the first person to tell you that some of the things that happen, couldn’t possibly happen. I’ll also be the first person to point out the issues with the story, or possibilities of it. But, in the same light, I’ll also be the first person to tell you that I laughed out loud a number of times, and that I left the theater with a big grin on my face.

After reading all the negativity the last few days, I fully expected to go into the movie, and have it be terrible. Which isn’t all that bad, after all, I love writing negative reviews. Live Free or Die Hard, however, wasn’t terrible. Sure, it wasn’t perfect. But, overall it was a lot of fun. And it was enjoyable.

Willis and his new co-star (…and I’m a Mac) Justin Long have great onscreen chemistry together. I’m not sure if it’s just because Justin Long is such a likeable guy, or if he and Willis really played well together. There’s a lot of “Ha!” moments, when you’ll laugh out loud at something that McClane says, or does. Are some of the one-liners cheesey? They most certainly are. But that’s what makes them loveable.

For the stunts, some of them are fantastic. The scene I’m sure you’ve seen, where the cop car flies into the helicopter (from the trailer) is very cool. Some other stunts are pretty cool as well. There’s a scene where the badguy (dubbed “spiderman” by McClane) is jumping around the room, bouncing off walls, and whatnot. Very similar to the stunts performed at the beginning of Casino Royale. Though, in the same light, there’s some things that were completely unrealistic. Could a man fall from a helicopter thirty feet to concrete, and live? Doubtful. Would McClane have gotten burnt by the jet engines if he jumped onto the back of a jet? Most likely. Could a Ford Expedition fit into an elevator shaft with just enough room to slide down the shaft? Highly unlikely. Does that take away from the movie? No, not really.

Why? Simple. The movie is made to have fun at. Not to make fun of, but to have fun with. And I did, a lot of it. It seemed like everyone in the theater really enjoyed the movie too. We all laughed together, we all went “eww!” when someone died in a gruesome way. The movie’s a lot of fun. However, don’t be fooled. This movie is not a PG-13 movie. I realize the MPAA gave it a PG-13 rating, but this movie is definitely a rated R flick. The only thing that stopped it from being pushed to an R rating, was the lack of the F word. That’s right, lack of. McClane’s patented, trademark “Yippie Ki-yay motherfu**er” is not in this movie. Sure, it gets said, sort of. A gunshot overrides the “fu**er” part. So, it’s almost in there, but not quite enough to appease the bunches of people who are apparently pissed off about it, on the internet.

To sum up – if you liked any of the other Die Hard movies, particularly the first and third movies (let’s face it, we’d all like to forget the second movie anyway), then you’ll love Live Free or Die Hard. It’s a lot of fun. There’s a lot of death, explosions, gunfire, car chases, and smart ass jokes. I liked it, and will definitely pick it up on DVD when it comes out. McClane is back, and he’s not taking prisoners.

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